On November 9, Pepe Fanjul, Jr. and his family were recognized by the Western Palm Beach County Farm Bureau as the Everglades Agricultural Area 2016 Farm Family of the Year. The award was presented by John Hundley, Chairman of the Board of the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida, at Ray’s Heritage Packing House in Belle Glade.

The award is given to farm families who exhibit excellence in their commitment to agriculture and civic engagement in the Glades region of western Palm Beach County, where the Fanjul family has been farming since 1960. The family’s companies, Fanjul Corp. and Florida Crystals Corporation, produce sugarcane, rice and sweetcorn. They are also a longtime source of support for families in the Glades communities.

“We’re really humbled,” said Andres Fanjul upon receiving the award, echoing the sentiments of the rest of the Fanjul family. “It’s an incredible opportunity. When I read all the families that have won this award in the past, it’s an honor to be included as part of that group.”

The Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) is among the most productive and sustainable agricultural basins in the world. In addition to providing thousands of jobs for farmers in the Glades region, the Fanjul family has been an integral part of the community for decades through their charitable support, particularly their efforts to improve access to high-quality education and to reduce hunger.

“The Fanjuls’ presence here in the Glades is a blessing to us all,” said Ashley Tripp, Vice President at Tripp Electric Motors, Inc. “They have devoted their lives to excellence and showing us also how we, too, can acquire, through all of the work that they do in this community.”

The Fanjul family founded New Hope Charities, a grassroots nonprofit that provides services for children and families in western Palm Beach County ranging from daycare and health care to food distribution. The Fanjul family also founded two charter schools in Pahokee, Everglades Preparatory Academy and Glades Academy, to increase educational opportunities for families in the Glades.

Executive Vice President of Florida Crystals Corporation Pepe Fanjul, Jr. has long taken a stand against youth violence. For the 10th straight year, he and his West Palm Beach-based company are sponsoring Do the Write Thing of Palm Beach County.

The program is an initiative of the National Campaign to Stop Violence (NCSV), a non-profit organization dedicated to helping students make a lasting commitment to end violence in their homes, schools and neighborhoods.

“Violence is so prevalent in our society, and with teens it’s so unnecessary,” said Fanjul. “[Do the Write Thing] creates awareness of the problems that teens face today and offers a solution for it. It is making a difference in our community.”

Through the program’s chief initiative, the “Do the Write Thing Challenge,” middle school students are encouraged to take personal responsibility to prevent violence in their communities. This year, more than 28,000 students from 33 schools in Palm Beach County submitted essays sharing their experiences with teen violence and their proposed solutions to ending it. More than 300 were honored for their writing at the Palm Beach Convention Center on May 10. The top two entrants, Kirsten Brown and Quinton Williams, were selected as Palm Beach County’s 2016 Ambassadors.

Fanjul and Florida Crystals have underwritten the costs for Brown, Williams and their parents and teachers to attend this summer’s National Do The Write Thing Recognition Week in Washington, D.C., where Brown and Williams will discuss solutions for ending teen violence with other Ambassadors from across the country and members of Congress, the Secretary of Education and the Attorney General. Florida Crystals is also sponsoring that week’s Recognition Luncheon.

“We’re thankful to everyone and especially to Florida Crystals for their support,” said Bill Bone, Do the Write Thing Chairman for Palm Beach County. “Without them, there would be no challenge.”

Pepe Fanjul, Jr. and the team at FCI Residential, a division of Florida Crystals Corporation, held a ribbon-cutting event to mark the opening of its newest residential community, Atlántico at Kendall, in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Atlántico at Kendall is a garden-style community with midrise resort-style amenities, consisting of 322 luxury apartment rentals ranging from one, two and three bedrooms.

A significant emphasis is placed on the community’s amenities, featuring a Wi-Fi Cyber café, Network Lounge, Video Gaming Center, Fitness Center, and Spin/Yoga room with a Virtual Trainer and Treatment room. The outdoors offers a resort-style pool with an adjacent lap pool. An expansive sundeck with Cabanas and a second-floor veranda complete a second outdoor space. A final outdoor space is an exclusive urban park featuring a playing field, dog park, tot lot and gazebo with an outdoor kitchen.

In Western Florida, a group of large farming operations makes up the Everglades Agricultural Area, which covers 470,000 acres. Pepe Fanjul Jr. leads Florida Crystals Corporation and believes in the efforts to reduce the phosphorous levels in surface water across Florida. In 2012, these farmers followed best practices and exceeded the 25 percent phosphorous reduction goal with an astounding 41 percent reduction in 12 months. Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades have been restored to their natural beauty as invaluable habitat for thousands of species of birds. Combined efforts by all of the farming operations in the northern parts of the state have enabled the natural waterways to return to pristine condition.

More than 20 years ago, the Everglades had shown signs of deterioration that was difficult to explain. Scientists began to test the waters and discovered high levels of phosphorous. As more testing was performed across the state, the farming operations were asked to work together with the state of Florida to devise a long-term solution. Pepe Fanjul and Florida Crystals Corporation were early adopters to the best practices for farming with low-phosphorous fertilizers. Major food producers have many methods for growing top-quality crops that feed the nation and the world. Adjustments to the various methods have improved the surface water quality and sustained each operation.

Today, the Everglades draw thousands of birds from the Canadian and South American migratory paths for nesting in South Florida. Pepe Fanjul Jr. is proud to be part of the effort to protect the beauty that is unique to Florida. Farming operations play an important role in Florida’s economy. The byproducts of farming do not have to negatively affect the environment. Through this implementation of best practices everyone wins. The Everglades will continue to thrive as long as phosphorous levels are controlled in the areas where surface waters make their way southward.

Pepe Fanjul, Jr. happily shared a new vignette that celebrates Florida Sugar farmers’ role as part of the solution for Everglades restoration.

The spot, which will be playing on televisions across Florida, shows some of the advanced farming techniques used by Everglades Agricultural Area farmers. Best Management Practices, as they are called, were developed by university scientists in conjunction with farmers. They are high-tech and some even include GPS integration, as seen in the television spot.

Pepe Fanjul, Jr. said, “We really wanted to show people what it’s like to be on one of our farms. Most people have no idea just how much technology goes into modern-day farming and how it helps us be good stewards of the land. We have computer records of all of our farms and can tell you anything about any particular parcel of land. We even laser level our fields to make sure they are completely flat, which means we can ensure the water we put on our fields stays on our fields. It’s really impressive. Our guys do a fantastic job, as do the rest of the farmers out here in the EAA.”

The sugar farming video also includes other members of the Everglades Agricultural Area community including sugar growers from Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida and U.S. Sugar Corporation.

Florida Crystals Corporation recently announced that the company has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Port of Palm Beach, which means the two entities will collaborate and share information and resources with the goal of developing an Intermodal Logistics Center.

Pepe Fanjul Jr., who heads the real estate and land management division of Florida Crystals Corporation, said the company has identified a parcel of land that is located between the cities of Belle Glade and South Bay. The parcel is close to US Highway 27 and is located in an area with an available and eager workforce.

Belle Glade, Pahokee and South Bay – collectively known as the Tri-cities — have been experiencing record unemployment levels that are three to four times the statewide average. Pepe Fanjul Jr. said his family and the company have been farming sugar cane and producing sugar in the communities for five decades. Because of the long relationship with the cities and their residents, the company isdedicated to being a stable job provider and helping the rural cities with much-needed economic development opportunities. It has been estimated that an intermodal logistics center could create roughly 20,000 jobs in the area. The cities have been vocal advocates of the project.

The completion of the Panama Canal expansion in 2014 will increase trade in South Florida and makes the creation of an intermodal logistics center in the western portion of the county ideal as it will serve as an outlet to quickly alleviate container traffic at the crowded east coast ports.

Florida Crystals Corporation has been strategically planning the intermodal logistics center project for several years and is confident that the project will be developed in the most efficient and sustainable way to provide benefits for the cities, Palm Beach County and South Florida.

Pepe Fanjul Jr., executive vice president of Florida Crystals Corporation, has joined the board of directors of the Foundation For Florida’s Future, an organization whose stated goal is to help foster an education system that allows each child to achieve his or her God-given potential and prepares all students to succeed in the 21st Century economy.

The mission of the Foundation, which is led by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who serves as chairman, is to make Florida’s education system a model for the nation. In order to achieve this, the Foundation advocates for policies to help the state of Florida remain at the head of the national education reform movement. Working in collaboration with students, parents, educators, business leaders and lawmakers, the Foundation educates about reforms and aids in their adoption by the Legislature.

As governor, Mr. Bush implemented major policies and programs to advance Florida’s education system. Since leaving office, he has established a national reputation as a leader in education reforms. Lawmakers in more than 15 states have explored implementing policies based on Florida’s education model.

The appointment to the Foundation’s board was a natural fit for Pepe Fanjul Jr. Among his various duties at the company, Pepe Fanjul Jr. leads Florida Crystals’ community relations and philanthropic activities. Under his guidance, the company focuses on educational, scholarship and mentoring programs, including annual support of Take Stock in Children, New Hope Charities, charter schools and another Bush family program: Celebration of Reading.

Along with former Governor Jeb Bush, other current board members include Phil Handy, former Lt. Governor Toni Jennings, Susan Pareigis, John Winn, Brian Yablonski, and Zachariah Zachariah.Joining Pepe Fanjul Jr. as new members of the board are Allan Bense, T. Willard Fair, Al Hoffman, Jr., Julia Johnson, Peter Rummell, Linda Taylor and Trey Traviesa.

Florida Crystals Corporation and the AnquanBoldin Foundation (Q81 Foundation)announced a new partnership last week that will establish and sponsor a series of summer enrichment activities for students in the Glades communities of Palm Beach County.

“The collaboration with the AnquanBoldin Foundation is an ideal fit within the framework of support Florida Crystals strives to build in the communities,” said Pepe Fanjul Jr., who serves as executive vice president of Florida Crystals Corporation.

The summer activities will be hosted by Everglades Preparatory Academy in Pahokee. Everglades Prep is a charter high school established by Emilia Fanjul to give parents and students in the Glades communities more options for high school education. The programs will be offered to students in the Tri-cities — Belle Glade, Pahokee and South Bay — and will include a two-day sports camp headed by three-time Pro Bowl receiver AnquanBoldin, who is from Pahokee, and other top-name professional athletes from western Palm Beach County.

Florida Crystals has been a member of the Glades communities since 1960 when its first sugar mill, Osceola, was constructed in Pahokee. The company is now a leading sugar producer and is proud to support the communities that have played a role in the company’s success.

“We are always ready to do our part as a proud member and partner in the community to help its next generation of leaders with their personal growth and development,” Fanjul Jr. added.

The Q81 Foundation was established in the Pahokee area in 2004 by Baltimore Ravens receiverAnquanBoldin to provide quality after-school programming in Pahokee, primarily for kids 13 and up who have very limited resources and support.

Pepe Fanjul Jr. serves as Executive Vice President of Florida Crystals Corporation, a global leader in sugar, based in Palm Beach County, Florida. At the sugar firm, Fanjul heads the state and national governmental affairs efforts, corporate communications, land development and real estate investments.

Pepe Fanjul Jr. is also a vice president of Fanjul Corp., the parent of the Fanjul group of companies, which includes Florida Crystals. Fanjul Corp. is a privately held, diversified agricultural, real estate, luxury resort and power generating company with global operations and holdings in North America, the Caribbean and Europe. Fanjul Corp. owns more than 400,000 acres of land, including the world-renowned 7,000-acre Casa de Campo resort in the Dominican Republic. Fanjul Corp. can produce more than seven million tons of sugar per year and has $5 billion in annual revenues.

Pepe Fanjul Jr. With Family

Florida Crystals Corporation is a leading cane sugar producer and the United States’ first fully integrated cane sugar company, guiding its sugar from the field to the table. Florida Crystals owns and operates the largest biomass renewable energy facility in North America, which powers the company’s sugar operations as well as tens of thousands of homes. Florida Crystals pioneered organic sugar cane farming in the country and remains the sole producer of certified organic sugar 100 percent made in the USA. The company’s organic sugar is grown, harvested and produced in Florida and is marketed under the Florida Crystals® brand.

Florida Crystals also refines sugar through its subsidiary, American Sugar Refining, Inc. (ASR). ASR is the world’s largest sugar refining company. ASR’s products are sold under the leading brands Domino®, C&H®, Redpath®, and Tate & Lyle®.